Online pokie machines don’t come much more complicated than Max Quest: Wrath of Ra. This new BetSoft Gaming pokie features incredible cinematic-style action and an Ancient Egyptian theme like no other.

However, the game is overly complicated, seriously challenging and takes a lot of practice and patience to get used to. This is just one of those pokies that most players really are going to have to play for free before they dare wager real money on it.

How to play

As mentioned, this is a very puzzling pokie to get to grips with. Even placing bets requires a bit of patience, practice and know-how. There are just 5 reels and 3 paylines in this online pokie, so wagering should be a doddle, and yet it is anything but. First players can use the Bullet Cost button to select their coin values.

They can then click the Bullet Buy-In to determine their stake. Players must then choose a room to play in, with each room capable of hosting 6 players. Rooms are divided by the cost of bullets.

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Features

Shoot to Win Gameplay: Instead of spinning reels in this game, players are going to try and shoot targets which appear on the screen. By doing so, they will be hoping to match identical symbols. These symbols (essentially enemies) offer cash prizes spanning several tiers, and when you defeat enemies, you can increase your rating to land bigger and better prizes.

Bullet Bonuses: Every single bullet that is fired by the player could be capable of triggering cash bonuses. Bullets which fail to hit a target may also ricochet and bounce back into your chamber, giving you further shots without the expense. There are a few of these available for you to enjoy – if enjoy is the right word.

Fire Enemies: Fire Enemies can randomly appear on the screen and will boost your rate of pay. In total up to 5,000x your stake can be won by dispatching these villains.

God Events: The second type of bonus in this game are God Events. These are also randomly triggered events which can occur at the end of any round. If you (or any of the other five players in the same room) successfully destroy a Pharaoh God, the big cash prize which is available will be split amongst you.

Upgradable Weapons: Players can purchase Weapon Chests or upgrade their arsenal as they play. Buying bigger and better bullets can see you do more damage to more enemies over a shorter period. Amongst the weapons you could hope to land are shotguns, grenades (kill up to 5 enemies), machine guns (increase rebound which saves bullets), lasers (again, increases the chance of a ricochet), and plasma rifles, which offer rapid destruction of enemies.

Quests: Up to 25 quests can be randomly offered at any one time. Players who complete quests can land XP (experience points) which can be used to help them climb a leaderboard, although the leaderboard doesn’t seem to serve a purpose, save for boasting of your success. Quests include killing enemies or landing treasure.

Maximum payouts

This pokie – if we could call it that – features an RTP (return to player) rate of 96%, and a non-progressive jackpot worth up to 5,000 coins. That prize is won by defeating Fire Enemies, as mentioned earlier.

Summary

With so many Ancient Egyptian-themed pokies out there on the net, BetSoft Gaming were always going to have to do something amazing to make Max Quest: Wrath of Ra stand out from the pack. Its cinematic imagery and drive you crazy gameplay does precisely that. More of a shoot ‘em up than a true pokie; if you don’t mind racking your brain to get used to the basics of the game, this one is worth a punt.